Abstract:
Thirty years after its founding in 1973, New York City's Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) found itself at a crossroads. The nonprofit, church-related organization that had long-provided tenants with assistance in renovating abandoned properties and converting them into cooperatives, UHAB was under pressure to adapt to a changing business climate, as the number of tax-foreclosed, city-owned properties declined in a resurgent New York city. What's more, UHAB, led by the same executive director for more than 20 years, faced tensions between an idealistic, semi-autonomous staff and the needs and demands of public contracts with requirements that specific tasks be completed in a measurably cost effective manner. As UHAB entered its fourth decade, a new chief operating officer must address its programmatic and managerial challenges, such that its idealism and individualism could happily co-exist with sound business practice.
Learning Objective:
This case is designed to provoke discussion of organizational strategy, in particular the approach best taken by a newcomer to an organization, charged with undertaking a significant change in its manner of operation.
